JUNE 4, SUNDAY (really Monday)

INNOVATION

A week ago I got to sit in Mihir Patel‘s Tesla as he took us out to lunch at Sahib, an Indian restaurant in Johnson City. On the way to Sahib he demonstrated his Tesla‘s ability to drive itself. As we left his house he entered Sahib on a large screen on the dashboard and then leaned back, his arms folded and his feet flat on the floor and off we went.

Not only did his Tesla stay in its lane but when the speed limit sign lowered the speed limit the car read the sign and slowed down. When the speed limit went up the car speeded up. When a car was driving below the speed limit in front of us the Tesla signaled left as it passed the other car and then right as it went back into its lane. It was drizzling so when the Tesla couldn‘t see the road well it asked Mihir to take over. If Mihir was looking off to the side rather than forward the car read his eyes and indicated he should pay attention. It was all miraculous as well as being a little scary. I had read that Teslas could drive themselves but it was completely dislocating to actually experience it.

I have two cars, the 2007 Honda CRV cost $2000 four years ago, the 2003 Kia cost $500 ten years ago. I have two cars so that if one breaks down I can drive the other one. So, since I am 15 years behind and won‘t get to the current EV stage until I am 100, I am not too concerned with whether Mihir‘s Tesla self driving is right for me or not, because when I am 100 I am pretty sure my kids won‘t allow me to drive. So I don‘t have to decide whether that new AI enabled technology is right for me or not. But even as I look back on my rationalizing I realize I am really only showing my age and reluctance to change.

Today, Monday, I watched the slickly produced 2023 Apple WWDC conference where Apple‘s new software and devices were being introduced. A lot of the talk about widgets and emojis and posters seemed teenage and frivolous to me. But there were a few new innovations—dictation and journaling—that looked as if they could be very useful to me.

And then came the big, most anticipated, announcement of the day: Apple Pro Vision, a sleek and beautiful set of goggles that fit over your face and let you either see with augmented reality, placing people and objects on the other side of your room, or virtual reality in which the everyday world is shut out and you are entering a 3D world of wild imagination. All of this at the high price of $3500. (Other similar Goggles from other companies like Facebook, cost $500.)

But the Apple Vision Pro sounds like something so brand new and so different, moreso than the self-driving Tesla, that I will have to wonder about it for a while and respond to it tomorrow.